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Sam said: 'The Mako made some menacing passes. On a number of occasions she almost swallowed the camera whole, allowing me to shoot straight down her maw.

'It was a once in a lifetime opportunity. I feel humbled to have witnessed such a display of nature's quirkiness.'

Sam was taking part in work carried
out by the Fox Shark Research Foundation, which was set up by Andrew
Fox, the son of famous shark attack victim Rodney Fox, in notorious
shark infested waters.

Predator: Sam Cahir had been taking part in a tagging trip in the Indian Ocean when he found himself face-to-face with the vicious fish

Brave: As the Mako circles the boat relentlessly, Sam Cahir slowly edges his way into the water to get some pictures

Punching above her weight: The pugnacious Mako refused to be intimidated
by the much larger Great White Sharks like the one seen in the
background and was even seen butting them out the way

Snappy temper: The Shortfin Mako shark - which have been known to attack humans - eventually left after eating tuna baits thrown into the water

Sam said: 'When I saw the shark I couldn't get in the water fast enough to get some pictures.

'I couldn't believe what I was seeing up close. This Mako was audacious, bordering manic.

'At one point I had a Great White and a Mako circling for the tuna bait. The Mako literally browbeat away a Great White and not just any Great White Shark but a very large dominant male maybe six times her mass and twice her size - it was amazing.

'Once the Great White left, the Mako
decided I was the next threat to her free meal. She circled me for
around two hours making intimidatingly close passes.'

The Mako pokes its fin out of the water as it circles Sam Cahir's boat in the Indian Ocean off Australia's Neptune Islands